Still and quiet
The waterlilies opening
Swirls from fish
Lazily catching flies
Circles on the surface
Reflections rippled then still
How deep are you?
Walking to the edge
Then dip a toe in
Feel the cool liquid
Gently caress.
Cool pool
Tag: Dorothy Clive garden
Ladys Mantel
When you see this leaf shape with beads of water on it you can pretty much identify it as a perennial plant, ladies mantel. I think the name is based on the fact that the edge of it looks like an old fashioned ladies collar. It’s used as a border plant because of its unusual shape and bright green colour. One of the plants at the Dorothy Clive Garden.
Dorothy Clive Garden day
I was out today with a local group of artists called the Orme art group. We went to the Dorothy Clive Garden and enjoyed a warm if sometimes cloudy day painting the views. These are my three. All watercolour paintings. A3 size on a watercolour paper pad.
Can I say I was shattered after doing these? But I do feel guilty saying that after a lovely day out in splendid surroundings.
Geraniums
Perennial Geraniums (not to be confused with Pelargoniums) regrow every year after dying back in the autumn and winter. They are also known as cranesbill I think because they sometimes have a prominent pointed central part to the flower (can’t remember what that bit is). If you want ground cover this is a great plant.
We bought two plants ten years ago from the Dorothy Clive Garden and now they are all over the garden. You can cut them back after they have flowered and they might have a second flush of flowers. The bees love them.
We have them planted under the trees in the shady part of our garden. If you look them up on the Internet you can find many different varieties.
Four drawings
Four sketches I did at the Dorothy Clive Garden. The view from the hill it’s on over to Shropshire and Cheshire. The Quarry garden with the waterfall. Sculpted woodpecker in the bark of a tree stump and my hubby sitting in the cafe garden.
Pool at Dorothy Clive Garden.
The one thing that did disappoint me today was the pool, usually there are mounds and shapes of lots of different plants, but with the cold wet May we had things haven’t grown yet. Hopefully on our next visit it will be burgeoning with flowers and foliage.
Still we think we saw a couple of newts in the pond, together with goldfish and dark carp. The waterlilies are growing up and starting to spread. All in all it was a lovely early Summer day out.
Blue sky
warm water
goldfish swim lazily
mayfly dart across the surface
waterlilies open pale petals slowly
the world is calm
clouds float in an azure sky
contemplate
and relax.
Owl sculpture
I saw this today on our visir to the Dorothy Clive Garden. I really like it. Not much more to say really.
More flowers
Well since all my photos are in my October file it does mean I can find ones that I took last year and I’m also putting them together in blocks so that I might be able to delete some of the individual ones.
I think these were taken out at the Dorothy Clive Garden in Staffordshire (?) , England, last year. Either it was a showery day, or partly overcast because some have shadows and some not. But they were all grouped together which is why I think they were taken around the same time. Other than that they are random and mostly on the hotter side of the spectrum. A lot of them are daisy types, but I’m in love with the poppy too.
Six years ago…
Bright flowers, photo taken six years ago. I think it’s a rhododendron, glowing like an orange sun. Talk about flower power. I’m not going to try and duplicate or mirror this photo because it’s really stand alone.
This would have been taken at the Dorothy Clive Garden on the Shropshire, Staffordshire, Cheshire border. It has a quarry garden at the top of its slope which is full of beautiful rhododendrons in late spring and early summer. Do visit if you can. Visiting has been limited due to the virus but I do know they are open and you can find out more from their website.
Dorothy Clive Garden.
This was my drawing of the Dorothy Clive Garden on 6.5.18. It’s recently reopened but with a booking system so you have to book morning or afternoon slots to visit. There is a self service system at the cafe. I hope we can go one day next week if the weather improves, after a month or more of sunshine we have been having rain for the last few days. Good for all gardens including the Dorothy Clive.
It will be lovely to see different landscapes, beautiful flowers, and peaceful water features.
When you draw a place you are interpreting the world in a different way to simple photographs. That’s why I enjoy it. Trying to tame nature and describe it.
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Mallaband-Brown 